There is an unbalanced
representation to monitor EHDI services: Department of Developmental Services
versus California Department of Education (CDE)/California Schools for the Deaf
(CSD)

After identification, the baby
needs to be referred to CDE and its State Special Schools Division (SSSD) for next steps because
this is an educational issue rather than a health issue

Language, not hearing and
speech, is the real issue here

ISSUES WITH INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN (IFSP)
SERVICES

There is no record in Part
C Department of how well Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) toddlers in California
are doing the first three years of their life (i.e.: language acquisition and
concept development)

Are data valid and informative? All children with disabilities are under special education, which makes them a cluster of one group. DHH children need to be under one category, blind children under another, and so on.

Mandatory language benchmarking needs to be normed; further developed and
utilized

Should start at 9 months old and onwards, with clearly expected outcomes
of development; system for monitoring development; and accountability
(consequences of lack of development)

For
accountability, language benchmarks need to be monitored very closely to ensure
that the child gains one-year’s skills within one year’s time (children with
age-appropriate language skills enter pre-school or kindergarten ready to learn).

Examples of assessments for DHH toddlers:

MacAurthur Communication Development Inventory

ASL Development Observation Record

Parents not made aware that successful language
acquisition and development is foundational for their children to later become kindergarten
ready

Family Education with
Deaf/ASL signers is vital during the first year

Teams often have professionals
who lack knowledge about ASL; underestimate or do not understand the full
potential of ASL/Language/Bilingual skills

There is a dearth of ASL
Specialists in Day Care setting

Hearing parents learning
ASL want their Deaf or Hard of Hearing baby constantly exposed to ASL. IFSP
services at their district need to offer full day rather than half-day. This
means child’s access to language is neglected if receiving “half-day” services.
Parents needs to learn how to self-advocate for services.

ISSUES WITH INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM (IEP)
MEETINGS

Teams often have
professionals who lack knowledge about ASL; underestimate or do not understand
the full potential of ASL/Language/Bilingual skills

IEP teams typically
withhold information about CSD

Required by law to give
parents ALL educational opportunities available

In one recent IEP, the DHH
administrator told a parent that she wasn’t “allowed” to visit CSD without
telling the administrator first

Some schools do not honor
parents’ wishes

Parents fought for their Deaf
and Hard of Hearing children to go to CSD.
They were not able to because of their hearing and speaking abilities,
including those wearing cochlear implants

This prevents administrators who have no background
in this area to keep acting completely at free will of the special education
professionals at the expense of the children

EDUCATIONAL INTERPRETERS IN MAINSTREAMED SETTINGS

Level of expertise of the
interpreters

The majority of them are
grossly under qualified and hired by administrators or human resources
personnel who do not know ASL

Hearing teachers overlook
poor interpreting quality

General Education teachers
are under-qualified to teach DHH students language and concepts

DHH students with lack of
expressive/vocabulary skills will not be able to enjoy full classroom
participation and may not be able to speak up for themselves

There is a resulting
incredible danger of wasted time in accessing and learning the curriculum,
causing harm to DHH students

Huge lack of understanding
of the role of interpreter in a classroom

BILINGUALISM
IN SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF

Academic vs. Social
Language

Language allocation and use
throughout the day

Involves both social and
academic spheres

Positively impacts academic
skills

Positive Parent-Child
Relationships

It is not spoken language
that will develop strong academic skills; it is early language. This method
provides children with ASL and helps some hearing families feel connected to
their children because they can voice at home while still having the benefits
of sign especially for school.

Bilingualism in the United
States promotes success!

Subtractive Bilingualism in
General Education means to use two languages until the second language is
mastered; the first language is then dropped, like with Spanish speakers learning
English as a second language

The majority of these
students typically drop out of high school or finish high school with poor
reading and academic skills

Additive & Maintenance
Bilingualism in Deaf Education: With this bilingualism,
both languages are mastered without dropping the first language. For DHH
children, it is ASL/English bilingualism.

Canada is using
this concept with much success. With hearing children, they teach
English/ French and their curriculum is being used with Deaf children
(ASL/English or FSQ/French).

Since we live in one of the
most monolingual nations where people often hold a strong disdain for
additional languages, this attitudinal issue is challenging to
address.

New Early Childhood Organization: The National ASL/English Bilingual
Consortium for Early Childhood Education: http://bilingualece.org

Nussbaum,
D., Waddy-Smith, B., & Doyle, J. (2012). Students Who are Deaf and Hard of
Hearing and Use Sign Language: Considerations and Strategies for Developing
Spoken Language and Literacy Skills. Seminars in Speech and Language, 33(4),
310-321.